Cactus Flower
by ChibiKanakoNyu
Summary: It all began as another wacky adventure for the Mugiwara pirates. Except this time, their trip to another strange island on the Grand Line had consequences that could change their lives forever - especially a certain blond cook's.  Eventual ZoSan, YAOI
1. Chapter 1

**Title: **Cactus Flower  
**Anime**: One Piece  
**Pairing**: eventual ZoSan  
**Warnings:** swearing, fighting, blood, yaoi (again, eventually)  
**Status:** ongoing ( and it will stay like that for awhile 'cause I like to blabber a lot, ya know)

**Credits:** One Piece belongs to the ever awesome Oda Eiichiro. I'm just borrowing the guys for some fun~

* * *

_Chapter 1_

It was a warm and sunny morning aboard The Going Merry, as the caravel drifted quietly towards the next destination of the Mugiwara pirates. Aboard her was strangely silent, however. Luffy, Chopper and Usopp were sitting on the railing, fishing poles in their hands, waiting for something to catch, not exactly calmly. The captain occasionally started whining, and in one minute scolded the various sea creatures, and in the other, he pleaded them to bite already. The long-nosed sharpshooter tried to calm him down, explaining that that way, he only scared away the small number of fish that actually came their way. Meanwhile, the little reindeer doctor merely sighed and complained about the scorching heat – no wonder, with that thick fur he had. But they couldn't give up, no matter how much they would have loved to just throw aside the fishing utensils and run around the deck, engaged in a game of tag or something of sorts that came to their silly little heads. For food was scarce, and Nami said it would take at least three more days until they reached the next island.

Other loud quarrels and fighting weren't happening either, for Sanji, the culinary genius had begun preparing lunch hours ago. He had promised a feast to the crew's lovely ladies, so he had started preparations early, and currently busied himself in the kitchen, whipping sauces, preheating the oven, peeling vegetables and performing various other precise and light-speed actions. His eternal sparring partner, Zoro, the green-haired swordsman was in the middle of his pre-lunch nap in his favorite spot: leaning against the wall next to the stairs, under the tangerine trees. He broke the heavy silence that ruled on the ship occasionally with one of his loud snores.

And where could the beauties of the Mugiwaras have been? Not hard to guess. Nami, the navigator and her friend, Robin, the archeologist, were comfortably stretched out on their sunbeds, enjoying a good book and one of Sanji's delicious cocktails. They were most pleased with the peace and quiet, because this way they could finally take a break from being pissed about specific people's stupidity, the sometimes so very tiring task of ordering around, and the righteous clobbering of empty heads – as far as the redhead was concerned. The other lady's thoughts and intentions were, as usual, clouded by the shadow of mystery...

The aforementioned peace and quiet, however, soon came to an end, when the gently tickling rays of the sun on the navigator's skin were abruptly replaced by a cold chill that made her shiver.

"Okay, who's blocking my sun?", she called, annoyed, taking off her sunglasses.

But her mouth soon fell open when she discovered that it wasn't one of her idiot crewmates towering above her. The sky itself was pitch black, swallowing the sun. Dark, ominous clouds hovered along its vast length, from which bolts of lightning shone out with increasing frequency.

"Wohohohooo! Look! A storm! A storm!", Luffy jumped around chirping. "If we do a rain dance, will it start to rain?"

"Stop that, Luffy or it will really start pouring!", Usopp yelled at him, his knees shaking.

Nami's jaw was even more agape as she surveyed the sky, and she rubbed at her eyes. Did she see right? But minutes ago not a cloud was to be seen, and there was not even a trace of wind. Wind? Not even a breeze! How could such a big storm have accumulated without her noticing? Sure, this was the Grand Line, and everything was possible and all, but she thought she had gotten used to the whimsical weather around here enough by now to forecast a downpour this big...

Then realization hit her, and she frantically began searching for some kind of center in the swirling vortex of clouds. She found it in a few seconds, and no matter how shocking, her theory was right.

"Look over there! And island at 9 o'clock!"

There was an island in the middle of the storm; this was the cause of the terrible weather rocking their ship erratically. True, the islands of the Grand Line all had their own climate zones, but the Merry usually entered these before the small piece of land itself was to be seen. Not to mention that this particular island wasn't even on the map. According to Nami's map, the next island was still at least three days sailing away! That aside, there was this strange, unpleasant feeling that began strangling her throat. Trouble was approaching...

"Island! Island!" The rubbery captain echoed like a squawking parrot. He practically shot his arms at the goat figurehead, and the rest of his body soon followed. Arriving at the top, he placed himself in a sitting position, one hand lifted above his eyes so he could spy on the horizon better. "Hooray! I was bored to death anyways! TO THE ISLAAAAAND!"

Nami just shook her head, sighing. No matter what kind of trouble was lurking at them, they were sure to get in to it head-on, thanks to their most clever captain.

xxx

In a few hours, they had already dropped anchor at the shores of the small island, with a little help from the waves guiding their ship to it's sandy beach. And, surprisingly enough, also with a little encouraging from the wind, appearing out of nowhere, catching up in that very same direction. Usopp suddenly got his "I-can't-go-to-that-island" disease, so it was decided that he and Chopper were to look after the Merry, as the small doctor found the sharpshooter's sudden sickness infectious. The adventurous captain, on the other hand, launched himself towards the center of the island the very second the anchor collided with the water. The rest of the crew, however, took some time to look around, to find out where exactly they had docked.

The more they saw from the place, the more ominous it grew. In spite of the fearsome storm clouds hovering above, the island was lit, and the light seemed to be shining through the woods from the center, as if inviting them inside, promising warmth and shelter from the rain. The crew's navigator seemed especially eager to explore the land, when she discovered that the leaves of the trees were sparkling. The magpie strikes...

"Emerald! And diamond! A-and could that be... ruby?" She twirled around, the gleam in her eyes overpowering the light the island was radiating.

"The light seems to be artificial. I wonder what kind of civilization inhabits this island." A little smile played on Robin's features, which she only showed, when she could live for her profession: archeology.

And so, the two women went after Luffy; Nami running, filling her shirt with gem-leaves, her raven haired friend following her slowly, looking around with a gleam of intrigue in her dark irises, intently taking in their surroundings.

It was a nice show of teamwork. Nami announced she'd go find and look after their idiot captain just after they hit shore, and in current circumstances it was Miss Archeologist's duty to keep an eye on the enthusiastic redhead.

That left Zoro and Sanji in one group. The blond cook went ahead, scanning the island's flora and fauna with his one visible eye. If an island just happened to be in their way, he thought, why not search it for something edible? And he sure hoped not everything was made out of jewels, knowing the unbelievable (even more so than usual) appetite Luffy had, after strolling around and getting himself into trouble.

And labeling the green-haired brute as the perfect pack mule, Sanji forced him to bring along the harvesting baskets and help him gather and carry, just so he could make himself useful once in a while. Said brute grunted some incoherent curses at him, but nonetheless slung the two baskets over his shoulders and followed, not having anything better to do, anyway. Well, maybe there was sleeping, but he found their current surroundings too interesting for that. What about exploring the place and getting lost? The thought sounded very good in his head, in fact (except for the getting lost part, which he would never admit), but after reminding himself that the idiot walking in front of him was in charge of feeding them, he decided it would be wiser not to anger him by refusing to help restocking.

"Move your stinkin' ass, Marimo", the irritating voice from the front called after some silence. "And stay behind me, you hear? Or else you'll get lost. Again."

Oh yeah, here we go. Sanji's spontaneous gum-flapping. Zoro sighed.

The two of them didn't succeed in collecting food – and not because Nami already picked the treasures hanging from the trees ahead of them. For not even Sanji's expert hands could have managed to present a seven course meal out of something undeniably beautiful, but not suited for eating. And on top of that, because there was nothing to be put into the baskets, nothing to be chased frantically after and hunted down; because, basically, there was nothing to do, quiet slowly enveloped them, except for maybe the soft melodies of the dangling "leaves".

Zoro enjoyed silence; it calmed his instincts. He had been raised surrounded by nature since he was little, so it wasn't strange for him to be able to lose himself in the sometimes nostalgic noises of Mother Nature: the buzzing of insect wings, the cracking of twigs under their step, the rustling of leaves in the breeze – which was, in this case, actually a jingling sound. But on board their ship, too, when there was an exceptional moment of silence (mostly, after the most – and noisiest – part of the crew had gone to bed), he would close his eyes, and let his being be filled with the sound of water splashing against the side of the Merry, the silent flapping of sails, the creaking of the wood of the mast; the harmonious mixture of the smell of tangerines and salty, moist air. He would relax and just let his thoughts float on top of the waves.

But Sanji wasn't this kind of person. He had already noticed this about him during their journey.

When the blond was alone in the galley, cooking, washing dishes or occupied with other tasks, he would never surround himself with complete silence. He clattered with cooking utensils, lit his cigarette with a quiet sizzle, sometimes uttered colorfully phrased curses upon not finding something in place. And he talked. Yes, sometimes he just started to speak, whispered a broken sentence accompanied by a puff of smoke, when he thought no one heard him. Occasionally, he would even start humming – but that happened mostly while he prepared dessert for his two lovely ladies.

Couldn't be helped. He grew up in a restaurant, amongst the never-ceasing noises of cooking and ever-loud cooks and customers.

The blond Love Cook couldn't stand the quiet. He found it disturbing, especially in company. In such cases, he always felt an urge to break the silence he felt to be so very uncomfortable – by speaking. Every time Zoro entered the kitchen for a bottle of booze and found Sanji alone, the cook always spoke to him: he asked about nothing in particular or got him acquainted with his newest improvised insult. Or, at the times the blond made him help wash the horrendous pile of dishes they (or rather Luffy) produced during lunch, Sanji kept talking to him, even if only saying as much as "dry this one, too" or simply, "here, Zoro".

And even then, in the forest, the stiff silence between them made Sanji tense and nervous. It was obvious, from the way he fumbled with the handle of the harvesting basket, or the way he played with his pack of cigarettes in his pocket.

The cook's speaking urge irritated Zoro quite a bit, but he had gotten more or less used to it by then, so he let himself be pulled into one of their usual arguing – and besides, like he'd let the stupid blond spit insults at him unharmed.

"Shut up, shit-cook! I don't get lost", Zoro growled as a reply, face reddening.

"Sure. And I'm a virgin bride", came the swift reaction from Sanji, as if to support Zoro's theory, and the green haired man could almost hear the eye-rolling and the mocking expression spreading on the cook's face.

"Why? Aren't you?" Zoro offered, grinning.

"YOU WANT SOMETHIN', SHITTY SAMURAI?"

Sanji was now facing him, face flushed with anger, shedding the basket from his back, ready for a fight. His glare felt almost burning as he blew out a big cloud of smoke through his nostrils. Even his hair stood up a bit on the sides from irritation. Like a devil? Or a bull? He certainly looked like a very pissed wild animal. And he was so easy to piss off...

"Idiot Marimo Kenshi. I'm gonna rip off your balls and feed them to you!", he hissed.

Zoro's smirk remained in place, and he, too, threw off his baskets. His body ached for some movement, anyways.

"You don't say, pervert-eyebrow! Well then, come, if you're so interested in my balls!"

"Waddyasay, YOU BASTARD!"

A thin but muscular leg clothed in black fabric in the air. A deadly gleam on a black shoe. Tanned hands instantly at the hilt of two swords. One leg slid back into combat stance. Shreds of moments, which seemed like long minutes, passed, as the air almost caught fire between the two powerful gazes.

And the waltz of death commenced.

xxx

"Unbelievable! I'm rich! I'm rich!"

Nami did such a pirouette of happiness, that even Sanji would have been envious. She eagerly collected pebbles, branches, blades of grass and leaves into a bag she especially had on her for such "emergencies". Robin let out a quiet chuckle and followed as they wandered deeper into the woods, the trees already slightly "undressed" by the navigator.

The sight before them was just like a picture in a book of fairy tales. The shining branches of golden trees were heavy with jewels, and the mysterious light of the island shone playfully on their surface, gracing the women with the dance of vivid colors; the ball of many rainbow-colored, playful fairies. When a light breeze brushed past the golden branches, the forest echoed the tinkling of millions of tiny fairy shoes; the light sounds of their ballroom music. Robin was completely in awe amidst this beautiful concert, as she walked forward trying not to let her mind wander, and lose Nami out of her sight. Unlike the archeologist, their surroundings didn't succeed in mesmerizing the redhead – at least, not in the same manner.

"We have to go back to the ship, Robin! We can't just leave this many treasure here! This is heaven! Oh, thank you, God! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She beamed with teary eyes, rubbing a silvery piece of stone to her cheek.

After a short while, their way led them out of the woods, into the blinding light. The girls had to stop for a moment, blinking and squinting to adjust their eyes somewhat to the strong rays.

"Oh my goodness! Robin, look! What a huge golden statue!" Nami shouted joyfully, and Robin, eyes still closed, heard her hasty steps as she launched herself forward.

When the black haired woman could finally lift her lashes, she indeed saw an at least thirty feet tall golden figure before her. She had to squint again to look up at it, for a giant, bright orb was floating in the air – kept there by who knows what kind of mysterious power – on top of the statue, which seemed to be the small island's source of light. The trees surrounding the clearing reflected the light back thousandfold, hindering the girls greatly in seeing.

In spite of this, Robin tried to look around a bit more, one arm held before her face to protect her eyes from the burning rays of light. Upon taking a closer look at the footing of the statue, however, her eyes suddenly widened, and she swiftly turned her frightened gaze after her friend, who was still surging forward blindly.

"Navigator-san! Stop!", she yelled after Nami, growing millions of hands out of the earth to prevent her from running.

"What's the matter, Robin? What happened? Let go...!", the girl complained, even struggled a little.

"Look! Over there...!", came the reply in a shaky voice.

The redhead was momentarily stunned by the terrified look on Robin's face matching her voice, and that made her oblige, and look ahead. As her eyes took in the surroundings of the golden figure, her face that displayed a mixture of doubt and frustration before, showed now the same fright as the archeologist's. She stood, frozen, on the very edge of a chasm, between Robin's protective arms; the raven haired woman managed to catch her in time before she stumbled into the depths. As she peered down, Nami's knees suddenly buckled under her own weight, and collapsed.

"Ships...", she could only manage. "A whole lot of them..."

"All of them are wrecks..." Robin stepped beside her, and her many hands around Nami dissolved into thousands of flower petals. "Mostly old ones, but a few of them seem new. How could they have gotten here?"

"And... those over there are... bones?", Nami almost squeaked in terror.

The air suddenly seemed to cool around them, and the blinding light faded slowly. The two women told themselves that the huge golden figure's mock grin was only their frightened mind playing tricks on them. Looming shadows surely didn't really begin to zigzag among the trees. And the earth below them couldn't have really begun to shake, either... Right?

The bag Nami had dropped earlier began to move, and upon hastily turning her head in the noise's direction, the terrified navigator jumped and held on to Robin as she saw slimy creatures creeping out of the bag's mouth, instead of her carefully collected treasure.

"Navigator-san, we have to get out of here!" Nami received a firm shake from Robin, then the dark haired woman took her hand and began running back towards the woods.

And the chasm followed them: it grew wider by the second as the trembling grounds caved in. As if it wanted to chase after them.

"Where could the others be? LUFFY! ZORO! SANJI!" The panting redhead screamed on top of her lungs.

It was then they heard Sanji's cry...

xxx

Let's turn back time a little, and take a peek at what the (occasionally very empty) head of the Mugiwara pirates was up to. Luffy was leisurely crossing the forest, singing merrily.

"_Minami no~ sima wa~a atatake~e~_"(1)

However, his little song was interrupted for about the twentieth time by the loud grumbling of his stomach – at least, according to him. And this, of course, cast a shadow on his cheerfulness.

"What's up with this island? No food anywhere... Stupid island", he whined.

And God knows he had searched long and hard for something to eat. Needless to say, he had been more eager than Zoro and Sanji could ever have been. But to his disappointment, he had found that neither the gem-leaves, nor the silvery pieces of stone, nor the golden tree trunks were edible. (Not as if the regular ones were...) And what was worse: meat was nowhere to be seen! Stupid island, indeed.

And so remained only singing to raise his spirits, and the hope that he'll be able to find something interesting on this island, not only these shiny, boring stones. (Miss Navigator would surely disagree heartily with this statement, though.) His adventure-detector never failed him; there must have been something exciting on this piece of land! That said, all he could do was continue marching forward. Maybe he would find something by the light in the center.

"_Ki~ita no~ shima wa~a~ samui~_"

It seemed he didn't have to wait long for the adventure to come his way. The moment Luffy started walking again with newly-gained enthusiasm, he soon found himself on his butt from a forceful wind-shove.

"Ow!" He rubbed at his buttocks, and began looking for the bastard that ran him over so roughly.

However, he didn't see anything or anyone; he only heard voices. And in front of him was something that looked like a miniature whirlwind. And a weird whirlwind indeed, for it groaned because of their colliding, just like the boy himself.

"A talking tornado?" Luffy blinked before shouting with sparkling eyes: "AWESOME!"

Hearing that, the restless little wind let out a flabbergasted sound, and after running in circles around the rubbery captain, gathering millions of precious leaves from the surrounding golden trees, it threw his fresh harvest at the already slightly dizzy Luffy, until it formed a neat little mountain on top of him. The strange creature then stormed away along the very same route the straw-hat came from – back to the shore. It took a few minutes for the raven haired captain to climb out of the pile of jewels, but luckily for him, his attacker's path was nicely marked with emerald leaves and golden twigs it knocked off on its way, so he quickly sprang to his feet and dashed after it, bellowing loudly:

"Stop, stupid tornado! I said, wait!"

However, after long minutes of running around, he lost sight of the creature. He frantically turned his head in hopes of finding it, but failed. The chimes of the leaves sounded almost like teasing laughter.

"Where did he go? HEEEEEY! WHERE ARE YOOOOOU?"

But instead of the magical wind, he heard other voices. Familiar voices.

"Die, shitty Marimo!"

"Take that, stupid cook!"

His face lit up, and for a moment, he completely forgot he had pursued something.

"Zorooooo! Sanjiiiii!"

Just as he was about to approach them, though, the heel of his flip flops slapping against the ground with his first step, he felt that wind again. He stopped abruptly, the wide grin disappearing from his face in an instant, and he looked around. But the second his eyes caught on something amongst the trees, he already heard a loud thud from the direction of his friends, along with Sanji's shout.

"ZORO!"

xxx

"Zorooooo! Sanjiiiii!" The fighting duo heard Luffy's loud, cheerful call.

Sanji spotted their idiotic captain from over Zoro's shoulder, but found it strange that the youth's expression didn't match his cheery tone from before, and he seemed to be looking for something.

"Where are you looking, Love cook?" Zoro struck his blade down on him yet again, and the blond could barely avoid it by a hair, jumping to the green haired man's right side.

"No fair, you orangutan!"

The cook suddenly got a bad feeling in his gut; he felt the presence of a fourth person. In the next moment, he already even spotted something white amongst the shadows of the forest. But then his reflexes gained control once again, his eyes fixed on the gleam of a blade swishing before him. He lifted his leg to retaliate, but waited in vain for the collision. Only a whoosing sound reached his ears, followed by the clatter of steel, before his opponent's body fell against his.

"Zoro...?" Sanji staggered, and without his support, the unmoving first mate fell to the ground.

"ZORO!"

* * *

(_1) Luffy's song is the "Island Song", featured in the Skypeia arc of the anime:_  
_„minami no shima wa atatakai_  
_paina puru puru atama pokapoka aho baka_  
_kita no shima wa samui_  
_hyakoi koikoi atama buruburu aho baka"_

_„The islands in the South are warm_  
_Pineapple, their heads are boiling, they're all idiots._  
_The islands in the North are cold,_  
_Shiver, shiver, shiver, their read is freezing, they're all idiots."_

**A/N:** Woot, my first English fanfic! Translating from Hungarian was a real pain, but oh well. I'm my own personal beta at the moment, so bear with me, ne? ^^ Feel free to give me feedback on any major mistakes I've made – or about anything at all. *wink, wink* And sorry if it seems boring. I tend to go where the story takes me and... this is the result for now.

I'm going to use the Japanese names of the attacks and nicknames, because I feel more homely that way. Blame it on my being a language- and Japan-freak. And on James Clavell. Yeah, definitely on James Clavell.

**EDIT:** Woah, haven't seen this in a while... I re-wrote some stuff, because my style hand changed a little since this chapter. But it's mainly stylistics, so no biggie~ :3


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2_

Fear is not the strongest negative human emotion for nothing. It is capable of torturing, strangling and cutting a usually so confident, and at times alluring baritone to pieces, only to knead it into a distorted, vocal-chord-ripping cry. Into a desperate yell, which echoed a single name throughout the strange and increasingly fearsome island, and which seemed to make every move hang and every breath hitch for a moment. In the later heroic tales of the Mugiwara pirates, this voice was upreared into a powerful sound of alarm, able to blow everything away. If the two escaping girls hadn't known better, they could have mistaken this rumbling bellow for the cause of the earth quaking under their feet.

"It's Sanji-kun's voice!", Nami panted and slowed down for a moment, but Robin didin't let her hand go and pulled her on.

"It came from the Northeast", the raven haired archeologist stated. "I hope they are unharmed. Come, Navigator-san, let us hurry!"

The redhead nodded, but immediately a scream tore from her throat as several golden trees fell with a loud rumble and dived into the ever spreading abyss. The widening cleft chased them like an invisible beast, piercing the earth with its deadly claws. Due to the ever increasing trembling and panic, at times one of them slipped and fell to the ground, almost falling victim to the greedy pit, but they kept on running, helping up and supporting one another, heading into the direction where Sanji's – and hopefully their other comrades' – location was.

**oXo**

Sanji, so to say, had gotten into a state of shock. He felt dizzy and his ears buzzed, and the few moments he had been just staring in front of himself seemed like hours. But even after these lengthened seconds, his short-circuited mind couldn't cough up anything better to do than falling to his knees, grabbing the shoulders of the unconscious swordsman and shaking him violently.

"Zoro! Zoro! Wake up! Hey! ZOZO!"

His body shook, and his breathing, already fast due to their previous fighting, grew more ragged.

"Get up! It's not funny! Hey!", he said, even though he knew fully well that it wasn't a joke. But there was a small hope inside of him for some reason that Zoro just wanted to mess with him. That it was just a bad pun on the man's behalf. It had to be...!

Though, his nakama didn't answer. He just lay unmoving in the cook's grip, only his head bobbing back and forth from the shaking. The blond just glared at the fainted man for awhile and sneered at him, as if he was blaming him for what had just happened. Then, after some time, when his jumbled up thoughts have gathered somewhat, he suddenly remembered that white thing he saw among the trees while sparring. He whipped his head in the direction he remembered discovering that certain fourth person present, but he didn't see anyone. In fact, instead of four, there were only two of them now. The strawhat-wearing captain has gone missing, as well.

"Luffy?" His breath hitched for a moment once again. "Luffy! Where the hell did you go?"

Great. Just fucking great! The captain vanished into thin air, he hadn't seen Nami and Robin since they had docked and Zoro was so kind as to keel over!

"Goddammit...!" He slammed his fist against the ground.

His gaze returned to his unconscious comrade, with whom he remained alone in the middle of their stomped-out battlefield. Zoro's face started to turn a reddish color, sweat pearling on his forehead and his breath coming out in puffs through his parted lips. The typical signs of fever. Sanji placed his palm onto the swordsman's forehead, and frowned as his suspicion proved to be correct. He quickly put an arm under the man's armpit and took him onto his shoulder, then slowly stood up. He didn't have any other choice; he had to take him to Chopper as soon as possible. He would definitely come back to look for the others after that, and they would get the fuck away from this freaky place.

"Nami-san! Robin-chwan! Hold on!", he called to the dark sky, not being able to address his dear ladies directly, while adjusting the swordsman's thick arms around his neck.

He was just on his way towards the beach, not having any time to waste, when he stumbled upon one of Zoro's swords; the white-handled one, which the green-haired idiot usually held in his mouth, and without which he refused to go anywhere. Sanji sighed and put down his unconscious companion onto the ground once again, then gathered the three scattered katana. Leaving them there would have been like leaving Luffy's straw hat behind. The damn bastard would have never forgiven him. Not that he cared...

Upon sticking the third sword under his arm as well, he discovered a shiny object in the dust. At first he thought it to be a jewel fragment from one of the trees, but as he took it in his hand and examined it more closely, he noticed it being slightly different from the stones dangling from the golden branches around him. Traces of a human intervention were visible on it: it had been chiseled into a cylindrical shape and a hole had been made through the middle of it. A few drops of some kind of suspicious-colored liquid still stuck to the sides of the makeshift vial, clearly showing that it had also been filled with something. Furthermore, a thin metallic needle had been fastened to one end of the object, which was now stained with blood, and a few drops of that very same liquid were still hanging from the needle-end. He didn't have to be neither a scientist nor a doctor to realize that he held a dart injection in his hands. And that blood stuck to its needle must have been Zoro's, without a doubt. He let the small crystal vial slide into his shirt pocket; it may be still of use to Chopper.

After that, he lifted the green-haired swordsman off the ground again, and holding the three weapons to his side, he continued striding towards the Going Merry.

**oXo**

The earth quaked, as if it had been a strained rope being plunked by a supernatural force. The coughing and wheezing figure slowly slid down along the tree trunk to which they were pushed against, and stared down on their bloody palms they wiped their mouth with a second ago. Their blurry gaze was fixed on those pair of flip-flops, which, under other circumstances, would have made their bearer appear as a harmless fool, but now forced the wounded to make the tightening in their throat disappear with a painful gulp. They lifted their gaze up slowly along the two thin legs and torso, onto those dark, burning pair of eyes, which were like daggers through their whole body. Their foe pulled his straw hat onto his brow, making it cast frightening shadows onto his features. He lifted up his bent arm, the back of his fisted hand towards the weakened opponent. His other hand slid up on his bicep, pulling up his non-existing shirt sleeve while he kept his piercing glare on the coughing and rattling figure. Then suddenly, he spoke, his voice overpowering the rumbling earthquake.

"At first I thought you were cool. But you harmed my nakama, so I'm gonna kick your ass."

**oXo**

Like a terrible nightmare. You have no idea why or where you are running, but you feel in your very bones that you have to get there. You run as fast as your feet are able to carry you, and you feel like your lungs are about to explode, but you still can't see the end of the road. What's worse, your goal seems to slip farther and farther away from you, and the road only seems longer. It grows right before your eyes, like a writhing, winding snake.

Nami was sure she had never run that fast, and never felt that dizzy before in her life. The earth was shaking and rippling under her feet, threatening to simply slip from under her any minute. Her eyeballs were nearly jumping in her skull, barely allowing her to take out anything from her blurry and constantly moving surroundings aside from that hand, holding tightly onto her own. Her ears were buzzing amidst the chaos that wanted to pull the both of them into its depths, and next to her own labored breathing, she hardly heard fragments of Robin's voice, of which she was sure it was urging her on and on to hold on. If it weren't for that though scared, but determined voice, stubbornly leading her towards their ever-fading goal, she might have given in to the temptation to just close her eyes and let the terror-snake throw her off its back.

"Look out, Navigator-san!", Robin's voice pierced through the rumbling and buzzing, her hand tugged the redhead's hard and the world suddenly tipped to the left.

Deafening boom from the right, as if from right next to her ear. Another row of trees fell into the widening abyss, shedding twinkling crystal-tears. That was close. Nami sighed in relief.

"Robin, are you alright?", the question fell from her mouth, like a sigh, as she tried to catch her breath.

"I am fine, Navigator-san. But we have to hurry", the archeologist reached for her hand to help her up. The quivering grew unbearably strong by then, making it even harder for them to stand up for the umpteenth time. The threat-opposing noises, however, were nearly catching up with the two women, and this was why, no matter how many bruises their knees bore and how much the sweat stung on the small cuts on their palms, they had no other choice but to run until their last breath.

_We can't get stuck here on this God-forsaken island! We have overcome much bigger dangers than this! What about the One Piece? What would Luffy think...?_

_You'd better be okay, you idiots..._

A new determination, spiced with some anger is the best recipe for endurance, thus Nami's feet all but flew in the direction of the shore, towards the Merry, towards her friends.

Towards their dreams.

She felt as if she had already learned how and where to put her feet on this ever-moving ground, and she could almost hear the sound of the sea.

However, over-confidence is the potion of downfall.

To the navigator's big surprise, her next step didn't meet the ground. By the time she could take a glance in front of herself to find out the reason, her other foot has left the "solid" foundation as well, the dark and deep chasm awaiting her with open mouth.

But with just a pinch of luck...

She didn't even have time to give out a squeak, nor to think about why she was flying upwards instead of falling. She barely opened her mouth to let out a terrified scream, when something suddenly swung against her back, making her slam against Robin's. A particularly loud and cheerful something. She only screamed then, partly due to fright, partly because of relief.

"Luffy?"

"Ooooh! Nami! Robin!", the improvised rubber cannon ball laughed, who actually was their captain. He noticed only then, it seemed, that he had bumped into the two girls. "I was just looking for you! We're getting outta here! To the Merry!"

**oXo**

After a few minutes of running, the blond cook successfully reached the sandy beach, coming out from between the trees. He scanned the landscape with his one visible eye, and his lips curled up into a smile as he discovered the Going Merry. However, when he let out a breath and was about to approach it, the earth gave a sudden shake under his shoes, and losing his balance, he almost dropped the unconscious Zoro from his back.

"Sanji! Sanji, are you okay?", he heard a familiar, high-pitched voice calling him.

Gaining back his stability, the blond saw Chopper's nearing figure as he strode towards him rapidly with his long reindeer-legs.

"I'm fine, Chopper", he told his panting and frightened friend calmingly as he arrived next to him, more exhausted from being scared rather than from running. "But Zoro..."

He peeled the lax arms off of his neck, and pushed the swordsman into the arms of the doctor. Chopper, after having taken human form, held him steady, not letting him fall to the ground, then knelt down with him onto the sand. Not taking his expert eyes off his comrade for a second, he already began the examination. His first move was to put his hand onto Zoro's forehead, as to be expected.

"Oh my goodness, he's burning up! What happened to him?", he all but squealed while he padded the man's limbs and searched for his pulse.

"I'm not sure. We were fighting, when... he suddenly collapsed", the cook squeezed out the words, a little harder than he had intended to.

Chopper's gaze then got caught by Zoro's arm, more precisely by the blue-purple spot spreading there, and his practiced eyes noticed the small hole in the middle of the dark and bloodshot patch of skin. Was he stung by a bug? No, it didn't look like a normal insect sting; the skin around the hole wasn't swollen, and the puncture had a larger, more definite outline. Artificial. Needle-trace. When the doctor lifted his gaze onto Sanji once again, opening his mouth in attempt to question him further, the cook spoke again.

"Wait, there's something else...", he started as the thought struck him, quickly patting along all his pockets, and when he felt up his shirt pocket, his face showed that he found what he was looking for. His hand was shaking, thus the object got caught up in the light blue fabric, and it took him a forceful tug and some muttering of low curses to free it and finally hand it over to Chopper.

"Here. I found this in the dust near him. And I saw someone hiding in the woods just before he lost consciousness, but I noticed too late, and... After Zoro fell, I lost sight of that motherfucker..."

The reindeer took a look at the shiny object. Dart injection. He guessed right. He took an angry glance at the tiny vial, as if he was glaring at the culprit himself, just about to throw one or two harsh words at him. Then he turned back to the green haired man, and worry appeared on his face next to the anger as his eyes took in the pain the other displayed.

"He's showing symptoms of infection", he said in a stern voice as he stood, wrapping and arm around Zoro's abs and taking him over his shoulder. "I have to examine him more thoroughly."

"I'll leave him up to you, then", Sanji already held his yearned-for cigarette between his lips, igniting its end with a click of his lighter. "I'm going back for the others. We've gotta get out of here very fucking quickly."

"You're planning to go back there alone?", Chopper asked incredulously. "But Sanji, that asshole who did this to Zoro is still out there somewhere!"

"Exactly. I don't have a choice. You have to take care of Zoro, and Usopp has to guard the ship." He bit the filter of his smoke in irritation. "I won't let the others end up like this..."

The reindeer took a breath, about to say more dissuasive words, when Zoro let out a small groan. The grip of his arm, holding the sick man in place, tightened, and his chest heaved a heavy sigh.

"Alright. Bring them back. And take care."

"I will." A reassuring, brave smile tugged on the corners of the cook's mouth, and turning on his heels, he headed back into the woods, while the doctor hurriedly made his way into the opposite direction.

They barely took a few steps, though, when a far-away scream made both of them stop in their tracks. Sanji's face went pale with shock as he recognized the female voice.

"Nami-san!"

The redhead's cry seemed distant at first, but grew louder with frightening speed, the rustling of stirred leaves and branches joining in. What's more, as the noise came closer, another voice could be heard next to it. Not nearly as frightened as Nami's, though not less loud. Cheerful, lively, laughing.

"Luffy?", the name slipped from both nakama at the same time.

But they didn't exactly have time to wonder, for soon a giant tangled-up pile of laughing and screaming limbs flew out from between the trees, which toppled them over before an elastic rubbery hand plastered them to the ball as well. And so the team of the screamers gained two new members as they flew towards the Merry after bouncing off the ground, leaving nothing behind except a few footprints and Sanji's dropped cigarette.

**oXo**

Usopp kept an eye on Chopper all the while, who, upon hearing Sanji's cry, went right after their comrades into the woods. He also was the startled witness of their blond nakama coming out from among the trees, carrying Zoro on his back. But just then, a horrifying hairy and buzzing monster appeared from out of nowhere and hindered his eyesight! Of course, he didn't squeal like a girl and didn't back against the mast in fright. Not at all! We're talking about the mighty Captain Usopp here! Thus he had no reason to feel awkward as he beheld a fly sitting on his nose after taking off his goggles. But even if he did feel embarrassed, it could have been said in his defense that no matter how he tried to swat the damned beast away, it stubbornly insisted on staying on its spot on the bridge of his nose. After some struggle, the damn thing finally got the hint and flew away, and Usopp sighed victoriously before stepping back to his previous lookout-position at the railing. But as he looked through his lenses anew, he was dumbfounded to find that his comrades disappeared into thin air.

"What the...? Where did they go?", he blinked as fear (once again) took a grip on his throat.

However, he didn't have another second to mull over the phenomenon, due to the loud screaming reaching his ears. Approaching cries. And... familiar cries?

"Nami? Luffy?", he turned about, fervently searching for the source of his fellow crewmates' shouts. "And Sanji and Chopper, too?"

Then, his ears also picked up the whooshing noise of the fall of a heavy object, which switched the alarms on in the sharpshooter's mind: "danger, danger, run, run". But when the aforementioned, ready-to-land thing cast its shadow on him, the alarm mechanism was wrecked by panic, and not knowing where to run, the long-nose started scurrying around in circles, screaming and waving his arms in the air. Looking back, he couldn't decide if he had fainted due to the impact itself or the pre-impact shock.

The huge pile of groaning (and stupidly laughing) bodyparts made a bounce on board, tilting the Going Merry slightly to the side before hitting the mast and scattering to its components.

"Wohohoooo, this was awesome! Let's do it again!", Luffy cheered on top of the mound of his nakama, clapping his hands happily.

"Get off, you idiot!", came the consonant reply from everyone, and the straw-hat, though reluctantly, had to jump off his growling seat, which probably consisted of the strange mix of Nami's knee, Chopper's ass and Sanji's shoulder.

"You're no fun...", the boy whined, pursing his lips in a pout.

The pirates of the Mugiwara crew tried to untangle themselves from the pile with moans and groans, rubbing at their aching limbs and complaining about their pea-brained captain. Said captain, for the record, just laughed at them and the "funny" faces and sound they were making. Though all this was quickly replaced by shocked gasps and whipping of heads when they heard Zoro's pained wheeze. Chopper was immediately on his feet, his hoofs clacking on the wood as he ran to the hatch leading to the boys' cabin, jumping down to get his equipment. Luffy's face, too, lost its joyfulness with astonishing quickness, the very same dark expression taking its place which he had shown as his comrade had fallen. While the others gathered around their suffering crewmate and couldn't really do anything except stare down on him in shock, the captain stayed where he was, head hanging and fists clenching. He cursed the bastard that did this to his first mate for the thousandth time.

"Zoro?", Nami stretched out her hand towards the swordsman, but stopped mid-movement as he flinched and shook with his whole body, coughing heavily.

"Oh my God! What happened to him?", Usopp screeched.

"He's been shot with something", Sanji answered, forcing his voice to stay calm. "Chopper said it's some kind of virus."

Meanwhile, the door of the hatch slammed closed, and Chopper's knees and his medical bag soon hit the floor next to the writhing man.

"Don't just stand there, help me hold him down!", the little doctor commanded.

The order sobered the startled crew right up, and they rapidly grabbed Zoro's limbs while Chopper gave the man a round pill, probably some kind of painkiller. It must have been something crazy strong, for in a couple of minutes the swordsman's muscles relaxed, his brow smoothed out a little, and though still panting, he lay there on the planks of the deck with a slightly more relieved expression. The ship's doctor then lifted him up carefully and made his way with him towards the men's bunk.

"Can I leave the rest to you", he said to the others, not even voicing it as an actual question.

"Just go and get Zoro into shape!", Usopp squared his shoulders, though it would have been hard not to notice the sound of his knees clacking together. "We'll handle the rest!"

Chopper nodded to them, then disappeared behind the cabin door. Aside from the noise of the gathering storm, the ship fell silent, so it wasn't that surprising that everyone looked Luffy's way as the boy slowly walked over to the figurehead and jumped on top of it.

"Alright!", he started in a loud voice, adjusting his treasured straw hat on his head. "We've wasted enough time on this stupid island! Let's go!"

"Aye!", the crew resounded, louder than the clashing of the waves.

**oXo**

As the group of pirates scattered to check the sails, the cargo and the cannons one last time, and to lift the anchor instead of Zoro with combined energy (and lots of slipping and falling onto their behinds and each other), Nami watched the clouds, deep in thought.

"Nami, what are we waiting for?", the rubbery pirate looked at his navigator, impatience and sulking mingling on his features.

"We have a problem", the redhead announced, sighing. "The direction of the wind hasn't changed since we have docked. It still blows towards the island, and it's even stronger now than when we've arrived here."

"And how long is it going to be this way, Nami-san?", Sanji asked as he stepped next to her, dusting off his suit jacket. That stupid long-nose stepped on it as he tripped.

"I have no idea..." The navigator frowned and turned her gaze away, tugging a stray red strand behind her ear, which was blown onto her cheek by the strong wind. "It doesn't look like it's about to change. I have a bad feeling that the weather is always like this around here."

"What?", Usopp squeaked, whipping his arms up in shock. "Y-you're saying we're stuck here on this cursed island? Fo-fo-forever?"

Because Nami only answered with another sigh, the sharpshooter couldn't contain his fright any longer, and started running around the deck, screaming things like "We're all gonna die!" and "We're doomed!" in a loud, squeaky voice.

"Shut up already, I can't think like this!", the red-hair told him off harshly, and Usopp stopped suddenly, as if somebody had pushed the pause button, then fell to his knees, sobbing.

"We'll never get out of here...!", he sniffed. "The great Captain Usopp's heroic tale ends here...!"

"Didn't you hear what Nami-san said? Shut your damn trap!", the blond cook's shoe tread made contact with the long-nose's head, pushing him to the ground, successfully reducing his cries to some pained groans.

"Hmm..." Nami examined the sky with her scrutinizing gaze, tapping her chin as she pondered. "This isn't just an every-day kind of wind. It seems so... unnatural. Artificial. Like a trap."

Just then, the booming of yet another quake caught her attention. Another bunch of sparkly-leaved trees sank to their sad end, revealing the bright light-orb they had discovered with Robin in the heart of the island earlier. Above the orb whirled a giant wind funnel, draping its stormcloud-cape over the sky, illuminated by strips of lightning running through it. She dared say that the wind came directly _from_ the orb.

"There!" Nami pushed against the railing with sudden momentum, pointing her finger towards the shining globe. "That's the center of the whole storm! It's coming from that light-orb there!"

"That seems to be correct", the ebony haired archeologist spoke, walking up next to her with measured steps. "It looks like it is capable of controlling the weather and gives light to the whole of the island, as well. It might even be a sort of energy resource. The core, so to say."

"Then that means... Of course!" Nami slapped herself on the forehead, then whirled around. "Usopp!"

"Eh?" The long-nose looked up at her from underneath Sanji's foot, surprised. "W-what...?"

"Do you see that orb there?" She pointed behind her back, then something clicked, and she waved her hand dismissively, sighing big. "Sanji-kun, you can let him go now."

"Right away, Nami-swaaaan~!" The cook quickly spun away from Usopp to move next to the redhead, almost drowning her in the hearts floating around him.

"As I was saying", Nami continued, not having to look down now as she spoke as Usopp was finally able to stand. "Can you see that strange orb there?"

The sharpshooter grumbled as he dusted off his overalls, then pulled his goggles onto his eyes and turned into the direction indicated by the navigator.

"Ah, yeah, that round, shiny thing, right?", he asked, narrowing his eyes in concentration.

"That's right. Shoot it down", the girl commanded curtly.

"Wha- Shoot it down? B-bu-but how? What if it explodes and burns us to ashes, too?"

"It is worth a try", Robin added. "Since the odds are high that we will have to stay here forever if this wind goes on, no matter what we do."

"You aren't scared, are you, oh great Usopp-sama?", Nami teased, hands on hips and tongue sticking out, while Sanji kept pirouetting around her, blabbering something about how he loved Nami-san when she was mocking.

"What was that? Scared? Me? D-don't make me laugh!" The sharpshooter let out a (somewhat shaky) laughter, taking up a triumphant pose, which turned out to be exceptionally strange due to his quivering arms and legs. "I'll shoot it down so fast you can't even say 'tangerine'!"

"Tangerine", Nami said, rolling her eyes.

"I didn't mean it like that!", Usopp protested, waving his hands about with a frustrated groan, then quickly strode down below deck, over to the cannons. "I'll show you...", he grumbled, his irritation winning over his fear just barely.

The navigator just followed him with her eyes as his bandana, too, descended under the plank floor, a cheeky grin on her face.

"Victory."

The grumpy marksman stepped to one of the cannons facing towards the island, then turned the sooty cannon barrel towards himself and started preparing it for firing, just like he had many opportunities to practice it before. First he covered the air vent to prevent the cannon to blast into his face. Oh yes, he had some unpleasant memories involving burnt nose and hair that didn't let him forget that step... After that, grabbing a rod with a sponge on its end, he cleaned the barrel before filling it with gunpowder. Then he placed the cannon ball inside, adjusting it with the other end of the rod, and turned the cannon back to face the water. Finally, he took the cover off the air-duct and stuck in the fuse quickly. He keenly observed the distances through his lenses, and set the cannon barrel into the right direction, willing his hands to stop their shaking.

"Here comes nothing..."

After taking a deep breath and lighting the fuse, he backed away a few steps and hunched down, plastering his palms onto his ears and murmuring a prayer. This was followed by the inevitable boom, and the cannon ball began its flight towards the target, slicing though the air with a loud whistle. He didn't even dare to turn around when the ball reached its final destination; it hit the mystical orb spot-on, blowing it to smithereens with a loud bang and a big flash.

"You did it! It hit!", Nami cheered loudly.

"I did...?", Usopp repeated monotonously as he finally took a look backwards, then he noticed himself and a wide grin spread cross his face. "I did it! Of course it hit!", he boasted, stepping onto the wheel of the cannon with one foot as he folded his arms on his chest, but he screeched loudly as the firearm rolled out from underneath him, leaving him to wipe the flooring splendidly with his nose.

The energy of the exploded globe, set free due to Usopp's spectacular shooting skills, zigzagged up in between the clouds in the shape of many vivid, backward-striking lightning streaks, trailing over every frill of the stormcloud-coat. Then silence. Hardly longer than a heartbeat, but utterly undisturbed, terrifying, dead silence. Then loud thundering and strong gusts of wind took its place, sounding much like the death-rattle of a horrid monster, while the previously wide layer of clouds began to pull together and condense. Strong wind and the stirred sea water assaulted the sides of the Merry, tossing the small caravel violently from side to side, threatening to throw it over. An especially forceful shove almost made Luffy fall from the figurehead, too, evoking a loud yelp from the dark haired youth as he held on tight, winding his rubbery arms around the ram's head.

"H-hey, Nami!" Usopp climbed back up to the deck, and almost fell over again as the ship suddenly tipped over to one side, but he successfully avoided another rough landing by grabbing the railing. "It's just gotten worse!"

"Of course", Robin said before the navigator could reply. "It is perfectly logical, if we think about all the energy that must have been released. The only remaining question now is whether it will be of use to us or not."

"It's all or nothing...", Sanji mumbled through clenched teeth, chewing on an unlit cigarette.

Nami lifted her worried gaze up to the sky once again, as if in attempt to force the gathering storm to let them pass with her eyes. She was intently searching for changes in the weather despite the whirling wind and the slapping of waves, gripping the wooden railing of the Merry firmly, not wanting to let the smallest of hints escape her that could get them out of this mess. At first she didn't even notice the change in moisture in the air, nor the first drops of rain, thinking it's due to the havoc of the saltwater around them. But the situation became clearer for her as the shower grew stronger, one heavy drop of rain following the other as they hit the planks.

"Rain...?", she wondered for a moment as she lifted her arms above her head as a makeshift shelter.

But Sanji was there immediately to offer the redhead his suit jacket, and he was about to take off his shirt to give it to Robin when the ebony haired lady rejected the offer, going to get their raincoats from their cabins instead.

Now that Nami thought about it, the weather had been this terrible all the while during their stay here, but not a drop of rain had fallen until that very moment. After all the eerie things they witnessed on this island, it wouldn't have surprised her in the least if that orb of light had somehow kept the precipitation locked inside those clouds for millennia on end. Though the stray and rather unbelievable thought elapsed her as she noticed a slight change in the direction of the wind. A favorable one.

"Usopp! Sanji! To the helm!", the navigator turned to them, whipping her arm back. "A strong wind is coming from the island. Let's nab it!"

The two men nodded and turned on their heels to rip the door of the lounge open, almost getting in to a fight in the heat of the moment about who should grab the horned head of the helm first.

"Ooooh, we're finally going? Woohoo!", Luffy cheered and clapped the soles of his flip-flops together, his good mood not faltering one bit even as he almost slipped two or three times while jumping around on the figurehead, the surface slippery with water.

"You'd better get off there, Luffy!", the redhead warned the looney captain. "A huge gust of wind is approaching! You'll fall into the sea!"

"It's okay, it's okay!", the straw hat waved her down with an ear-to-ear grin, proceeding with his cheers. "We're going, we're going!"

"Then, at least, hold on to something!", Nami called to him, but seeing that she was completely ignored by the rubbery pirate, she heaved a big sigh, and went back to examining the sky.

It turned out that it was a very good idea to send both the marksman and the cook to take care of the helm, for that blast of wind that arrived within mere seconds proved to be so strong that it took all of their energy to maneuver the ship as Nami called for them to through the deafening storm. Robin barely arrived on deck, clad in her long, purple-black raincoat when the ship began to move, to drape an similar, orange colored one over Nami's head and shoulders and then make the captain slip into his own red one amidst all his cheering, shouting and jumping around. To Sanji's greatest lamentations, Miss Archeologist's duty was to watch the back-sail and keep it from moving uncontrollably, since all other hands were preoccupied on board (for the redhead had navigating to do and Luffy refused to leave his "captain's seat"), and she had many of spare hands in store to fulfill the task.

And soon they needed all the hands they had to hold themselves steady, the wind all but blasting them away from the shores of the terrifying island, Luffy ending up flying right behind the Merry with outstretched arms as the hull cut through the waves. The navigator could finally breathe easy as she saw the small piece of land disappear into the mist behind them, hoping they would never-ever have to set foot on it again.

**oXo**

"How is he?"

Chopper glanced up from over the various test-tubes and open medical books scattered in front of him on the table to look over to the blond man, who just descended the ladder into the men's bunk. Sanji looked back at him with a serious and a tad worried expression, balancing a tray with a large pitcher of water, a glass, a bowl of steaming soup and a spoon on his left palm, which the doctor had requested earlier.

"He's still unconscious", the ship's medic replied and lifted his right forefoot, motioning for the cook to put down the things he brought next to the sofa Zoro lay on. "Just put it over there. Oh, and not too close to him, he moves around a lot."

The blond nodded as his gaze shifted over to the green haired man, and he stepped closer to the sofa to carefully set the tray down on the floor. He immediately had to pull it farther away from the spot he had decided to place it, however, for the sick swordsman stirred suddenly, almost tipping the whole thing over with a sudden wave of his arm. Sanji glared at him for a couple of seconds, making sure the asshole was _really_ unconscious, or else a well-aimed kick in his ugly mug was in order. But his anger faltered as he saw Zoro's eyebrows knit and teeth clench as he emitted a strained groan, grabbing at his sweat-stained shirt on his chest fiercely.

"He's in severe pain", Chopper noted, lowering one of the tubes he held as he glanced over to the ill with worry. "His fever won't go down and he has muscle cramps every five minutes."

"Did you find something out about that shot he got?", the cook stood, leaving the tray at a safe distance this time.

"Not yet", the small doctor sighed. "I'm still running tests with the liquid from that dart, but so far it's unlike anything I've ever seen before", he frowned, sloshing the dark blue colored tincture he was working with around a bit in the thin glass tube.

"I see...", Sanji muttered, his eyes fixed on his suffering nakama, and he found his own brow relaxing somewhat as Zoro's strongly gripping fingers fell lax again, the cramp probably passing in his body.

That virus, or whatever it was, must have been strong enough to kill a normal person if it did the stupid Marimo in like that, he thought. And really, one would have to clobber the damn brute until he bled rivers on the verge of dying to make him lie in a _sickbed_, _unconscious_. It seemed so unreal. The blond didn't remember seeing Zoro in such a bad shape before, ever, not even when he received that ridiculously long scar. At that time, he had just laid there, barely moving, as if in a peaceful sleep. Well, he _did_ sleep through it, actually... But this time, the suffering was so obviously showing it was painful to watch. And although he would rather have had his hands chopped off than admitting it, the thought made him worry.

_The damn asshole might be in deep shit this time..._

Adding to that, he kept remembering the moment the green haired man collapsed right before him, and how he actually saw something or someone who could have been responsible for his crewmate's current state, but couldn't do anything to stop it.

He clenched and released his jaw, tapping the floor a little with the toe of his dress shoe as his irritation started to fester again. He tried to think that he wasn't angry at himself, but rather at that bastard who shot the fucking dart in the first place. After all, it happened so fast, there was nothing he could have done. It _wasn't. His. Fault._

Standing around here doing nothing didn't exactly help, either, so he quickly turned to face Chopper with a low growl, pushing these disturbing shitty thoughts into the back of his mind.

"Need anything else, Chopper?"

"That's all for now, thanks", the reindeer replied after having written something down on a sheet of paper. "I'll feed him and try to give him something for his fever."

"Well, call me if you need me to hold the shitty samurai down again", Sanji offered, trying to lighten up the atmosphere a little, heading towards the ladder again.

"Thanks, Sanji", Chopper nodded, then returned to his research.

The blond was just standing under the hatch when Luffy came crashing down on him, the two of them landing with a loud thud on the floor. Or, more precisely, Sanji landed on the floor face-down, and the straw-hat on top of him.

"Sanji! Sanji!", the raven haired captain chirped, jumping around on the cook's back. "The deck is super slippery now! Come see, it's so cool!"

"Get off me, shitty rubber!" The fairly annoyed chef whirled around, kicking the younger man to the other end of the room.

"Watch it, you assholes!", Chopper screeched angrily, holding onto his fragile medical equipment.

"Sorry~", Luffy laughed, emerging from beneath some pieces of a wooden barrel he had just shattered with his landing.

"I was on my way up, you straw-brained retard!", Sanji stood, straightening his suit jacket, then started to climb up again, avoiding a skidding Usopp on his way to the kitchen.

"Is Zoro awake yet?", Luffy scurried over to his first mate on all fours, peeking at him from up close and poking his forehead with a rubbery index finger. "Zoooooooro, wake up! Let's play!"

"Stop that!", Chopper was there instantly to whack the goofy captain in the head with one of his thick books. "He's very sick! And NO, that's not yours!" Another whack, this time aimed at the straw-hat's greedy hand that was reaching for the cooling bowl of soup.

Though, the gluttonous pirate didn't give up on the food, so Chopper had to hit him some more, making his lips swell hilariously and making bumps upon bumps appear on his head before returning to mix some medicine for Zoro, not even paying attention when the other uttered a barely audible "I'm very sorry".

The captain remained there to watch as the reindeer-doctor carefully fed the soup mixed with some powdered medicine to the fallen comrade, his face pulled together in a pout, partly because he couldn't have the food, and partly because he started to get bored, Zoro unable to go play "slippery-tag" with him. After the tiny doctor went back to the table to proceed with his work, the dark haired youth scooted closer to the swordsman.

"It's okay, Zoro", he spoke to the quivering man in a low voice, smiling. "I took revenge for you."

He then patted Zoro's chest rather harshly, making the green-hair cough and groan, which was yet another successful way to anger Chopper, resulting in the ship's medic chasing the air-headed captain out of the boys' bunk and around the deck with a whole lot of screaming and broken objects, until an angry Nami "silenced" them with her iron-fist.

* * *

_**A/N:** _Okay, Candies, here it is, finally! Chapter 2! Goodness, I've been sitting on this since February! O.o Have I mentioned that I'm a slow writer? And school usually kicks me where it hurts, so... Yeah, college sure can suck.

I'll take the opportunity to thank everyone who has read and reviewed my (thus far still short) widdle fic, it made me grin like a freaking idiot each time~! So thank you all, vuw you very much~!

_About some questions, then:_  
**1. What happened to Zoro?** Hmm, can't tell yet, babes, would kill the plot big time (and not because I'm a sadistic, angsty biatch, nooohohoho~). But it won't be long now, I promise~  
**2. Where's Chopper?** Right here! xD I missed the little guy too~  
**3. Robin×Nami?** Err... Well, looks like my sense of nakamaship turned out to be too strong and suggestive. Sorry, dearies, I'm not really into yuri, so... No, chances are veeery slim for this pairing. *apologetic bow*

So then, Dearest Reader, please feel free to tell me what you think of this brainspilling of mine so far. (And you're permitted to kick me in the arse if I'm slow on updates, too~ xD). Until next time~


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